Kenya

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

Occupying a total land area of 224, 081 Square Miles (580, 367 Square Kilometres), Kenya, a culturally diverse country, is the home to around 42 ethnic groups, each with distinct languages and traditions.

Kenya is located in the eastern part of the African continent. It is a coastal country that shares a coastal boundary with the Indian Ocean. It is bordered to the north by South Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia and the Indian Ocean, to the south by Tanzania, and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda, encompassing an international land border of about 3,446 kilometres. 

The name “Kenya” was derived from Mount Kenya (originally referred to as Mount Kirinyaga), Africa’s second-highest peak after Mount Kilimanjaro. “Mount Kirinyaga,” which was the main landmark, became synonymous with the territory the British later claimed as their colony.

The name “Kenya” arose out of the inability of the British to pronounce Mount Kirinyaga correctly. Due to mispronunciations by British colonisers, the name eventually evolved into “Kenya.”  .
Geographically, Kenya’s terrain rises from a low coastal plain on the Indian Ocean to mountains and plateaus. Its seasonal climate is influenced by large-scale pressure systems over the western Indian Ocean and neighbouring landmasses. The main rainy season runs from late March to May, driven by easterly airflows in both hemispheres. From June to August, precipitation is minimal, with southwest winds blowing north of the Equator and southeast winds in the south.

Kenya has a thriving agricultural sector supported by its many arable lands. The country’s major exports are dominated by agricultural products, particularly tea, coffee, and flowers. These are followed by other agricultural goods like nuts, palm oil, and horticultural products.

 

 

 

Kenya is home to several wildlife, including lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceros, zebras, and buffalos. Kenya’s wildlife culture attracts millions of people each year from around the world. It is important to mention that Kenya’s ecosystems also include deserts, swamps, mountains, and forests. Each region has its own mix of plants and animals that are suited to the area’s particular geographic conditions. Kenya’s highland forests are home to many animals found nowhere else in the world.

 

Early Origins
Historically, the first settlers of this region came from different places across Africa, mainly through migration and economic activities. Later, people from other continents, including explorers and tourists from Portugal, Arabia, the Roman Empire, India, and Greece also settled in the country. They visited mainly the East African Coast from as early as the first century A.D.

The interactions between the locals and these foreign settlers led to intermarriages and the birth of a new Swahili culture, especially in the coast. Economic activities such as farming, fishing and international trade gave rise to both Coastal city states such as Siu, Pate, Lamu, Malindi, Gede, Mombasa and Vanga. As many major towns started sprouting up, Islam and Kiswahili language were also introduced. Commerce became an important factor that attracted people from different walks of life to the then-flourishing cities of Kenya. 

Serving as a home to around 42 ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has a diverse history, based on migration, evolution of the group, interaction with other groups over the years, culture, political, social and economic set-up. Among the major tribes are the Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kisii, Maasai, Mijikenda, Turkana, Kamba, Meru, Samburu, Embu, Taita, Kuria, Rendile, and many others. Kenyan ethnic groups are also grouped into major clusters: the Cushites, the Nilotes and the Bantu.

i. The Cushites group

The Cushites are the earliest group to have settled in Kenya. They formed a group that was broadly homogenous in language and in culture, and spread over a large part of Ethiopia, Somalia and in Kenya. In Kenya, they were spread over a small part as compared to Ethiopia and Somalia. The Cushites included the Rift Cushite people (i.e Dorobo and Okiek) and the North-East Cushites made up of the Somali, Boran and Galla among others.

 

 

ii. The Nilotes group

The term “Nilotic” is linguistic and originates from the term ‘Nile’. They originated from the Nile Valley. A mixed group referred to as the Nile Valley peoples. They stretched on both sides of the Nile from Sennar in Sudan to Lake Victoria.  

The Nilotes, in Kenya are divided into three main groups, the Highland Nilotes (also referred to as the Kalenjin speakers), made up of the Nandi, the Kipsigis and Pokot found in the Rift Valley; the Plain Nilotes – made up of the Maasai (found in the Rift Valley), the Iteso of Western Kenya and the Turkana of Northern Kenya; River-Lake Nilotes, made up of the Luo and Turkana who lived around Lake Victoria, practicing fishing and were mainly pastoralists.

 

 

iii. The Bantu group

The Bantu groups form the largest group of Kenya’s population.  They traded among themselves and with other Kenyan groups. They cultivate the land and keep animals as well. Examples of Bantu groups in Kenya include the Abaluhya of Western Kenya, the Kikuyu of Central Kenya, the Meru, Embu and Kamba of Eastern parts of Kenya.

 

 

 

The Arrival of the Europeans 

Trade was a key economic driver in early Kenyan city-states. Foreign merchants exchanged items like beads, clothing, wine, porcelain, and iron tools for ivory, gold, copper, rhinoceros horns, animal skins, timber, and even slaves. 

The Portuguese became the first major European power in the region, arriving in 1498 under Vasco da Gama. Their quest to control and dominate the lucrative Indian Ocean trade, the conquest of several city-states along the coast, and the establishment of their dominance, lasted 200 years. They, however, faced significant opposition from the locals. There were many insurrections against them. 

Eventually, the Portuguese were kicked out of the coastal towns by the locals with the support of the Omani Arabs, who extended their control by relocating their capital to Zanzibar under Sultan Seyyid Said. This was done to ensure that the Portuguese did not return. Sultan Seyyid Said of Oman ruled the entire East African Coastline until the establishment of British rule.

The scramble for colonies in Africa among European countries reached its zenith in 1884, when the Berlin Conference was convened to partition Africa among European colonial rivals. Among British acquisitions was the land we today call Kenya. 

The British took control of Kenya, initially administering it through the Imperial British East Africa Company under the British East Africa Protectorate. However, due to resistance from local communities, Kenya was formally declared a British colony on 1st July 1895, with Sir Arthur Hardinge appointed as the first governor. 

As a common feature of colonial rule, the British administration of Kenya was marked by economic exploitation, racial discrimination, and political suppression. Large tracts of fertile land were seized for white settlers, and Africans were subjected to forced labour, low wages, and oppressive taxes. Many of these Africans were forced to work at low wages on settler farms and public works. Political participation for Africans was severely limited, prompting the formation of early resistance movements in the 1920s. 

The African political participation in the affairs of Kenya was only limited to the local government. The Africans who did not approve of this political discrimination in their own affairs began organising themselves into movements to protest against the colonial system. It was for this reason that political activism started in earnest from the early 1920s in Kenya. 

The Journey to independence 

Kenya’s journey to independence was driven by political activism and grassroots mobilisation. Several political organisations such as the Young Kikuyu Association, East African Association, Young Kavirondo Association, North Kavirondo Central Association and Taita Hills Association, were formed to oppose colonial injustices, including forced labour, low wages, heavy taxation, continuing land alienation, and racial discrimination. 

Between 1944 and 1960 African political activism and demand for self-rule intensified in most parts of the continent. It was against this political motivation that in 1944, the Kenya African Union (KAU) was formed as the first national political movement. That same year, Eliud Mathu became the first African appointed to the Legislative Council.

Frustration over slow reforms led to the breakdown of law and order in the early 1950s, and in 1952, Governor Sir Everlyn Baring declared a state of emergency, following the outbreak of the Mau Mau uprising in 1952, whose motivations included land alienations, racial discrimination and lack of political progress. The state of emergency, however, did not deter the political activism in the country and instead boosted their morale to do more. 

The intensification of political activities in the country following the imposition of the state of emergency forced the colonial government to start the process of constitutional proposal. The British introduced the Lyttelton Constitution in 1954, allowing limited African representation in government. 

Under the Lyttleton constitution of 1954, Africans were allowed to directly elect their representatives to the Legislative Council.  The 1957 elections marked a turning point, with eight African leaders, namely Ronald Ngala, Tom Mboya, Daniel arap Moi, Mate, Muimi, Oginga Odinga, Oguda and Muliro, elected to the Legislative Council. These eight people stepped up agitation for wider representation and independence. There were discussions around the need to form mass political movements to further press for independence.

In 1960, the Kenya African National Union (KANU) was formed in March 1960, at Kiambu town, and on 11 June 1960, it was registered as a national political party. Concerned about domination by larger ethnic groups, as the objective of freedom became evident, smaller communities formed the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) the same year. 

KANU won the general elections in 1961 and again in May 1963, paving the way for internal self-rule under the Madaraka Government on June 1, 1963. In the said election, KANU captured 83 of the 124 seats. Kenya gained full independence on December 12, 1963, with Jomo Kenyatta as its first Prime Minister and later President. 

Political History: From Independence to the Present 

Kenya gained its independence from British colonial rule on December 12, 1963, after a long and often violent struggle led by nationalist movements, most notably the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s. 

Jomo Kenyatta, a key figure in the independence movement and a member of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), became the country’s first Prime Minister and later its first President when Kenya became a republic in 1964. His leadership helped lay the foundation of the new nation, but his administration also became known for centralized power and political suppression.

After Kenyatta’s death in 1978, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, then Vice President, took over and ruled for 24 years. Moi’s era was marked by a shift to a de facto one-party state, with KANU dominating politics under an increasingly authoritarian regime. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, internal pressure and international demands for democratization led to the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1991. Although Moi remained in power through controversial elections, Kenya’s political landscape began to open up to opposition voices.

In 2002, Kenya experienced a major democratic milestone when Mwai Kibaki won the presidency through the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), ending KANU’s nearly four-decade rule. His presidency was initially celebrated for efforts to revive the economy and reduce corruption. However, the 2007 elections sparked a severe political and ethnic crisis, with disputed results leading to widespread violence and the deaths of over 1,000 people. A power-sharing agreement brokered by international mediators created a coalition government between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

The post-2007 crisis led to significant constitutional reforms, culminating in the adoption of a new constitution in 2010. The new legal framework introduced a more decentralized system of government, strengthened checks and balances, and established a Supreme Court. In 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta, was elected president under the Jubilee Alliance, continuing the trend of competitive but occasionally tense elections. His government focused on infrastructure development and regional integration, though issues of corruption and ethnic division persisted.

In 2022, Kenya marked another peaceful transfer of power when William Ruto, serving as Deputy President under Uhuru Kenyatta, won the presidential election. His presidency has focused on economic reform, youth empowerment, and addressing the high cost of living.